By wide margins, New Jersey voters favor a broad range of gun-control measures and by a
smaller 50 - 38 percent margin say that private gun ownership puts people at risk rather than
protects them from crime, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

Among the 322 voters who say there is at least one gun in their household only 30
percent want stricter gun laws, with 23 percent for less strict laws and 46 percent who want to
keep laws as they are. These voters are less supportive of other gun measures.

"The support is solid, but a trifle less vigorous, on state gun control laws. A majority
says they should be tougher but a sizable plurality says New Jersey law is just about right."

"Overwhelmingly, voters would keep weapons out of the hands of the mentally ill,"
Carroll added.

"Armed police in schools? A bare majority thinks it's a good idea."

While a 5-1 majority of New Jersey voters support raising the state's minimum
wage, which currently is $7.25 per hour, 32 percent want to increase it to $8.25 per hour.
Another 45 percent want to increase the minimum wage to more than $8.25 per hour.

Voters reject 55 - 40 percent the argument that small businesses will reduce hiring
if the minimum wage is increased.

"New Jerseyans are in a generous mood when it comes to raising the minimum
wage, with overwhelming support for an increase, even among Republicans," Carroll
said.

In an open-ended question, allowing for any answer, 30 percent of New Jersey
voters say the economy is the biggest issue facing the state, with 29 percent listing taxes.
Another 8 percent list Hurricane Sandy recovery, with 7 percent citing education.

Looking at Sandy recovery, 43 percent of voters say it will be one to three years
before things get back to normal, while 36 percent expect recovery to take three to five
years, with 10 percent expecting recovery to take more than five years. Another 4
percent expect things to be back to normal in under a year while 5 percent say "never."

The owner of a home or business destroyed by Sandy should be allowed to rebuild
with stricter building codes, 76 percent of voters say, including 76 percent of voters on
the shore. Owners should be reimbursed and not allowed to rebuild, 6 percent say, while
16 percent say owners should be allowed to rebuild as before.

From January 15 - 21, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,647 registered voters
with a margin of error of +/- 2.4 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and
cell phones.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts
public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida,
Ohio, Virginia and the nation as a public service and for research.

For more information or RSS feed, visit http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, or call
(203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter.

27. What do you think is the most important problem facing New Jersey today? (Trend information is available upon request back through Apr 1996)

29. As you may know, high-capacity magazines or clips can hold many rounds of ammunition, so a shooter can fire more rounds without manually reloading. Would you favor or oppose a nationwide ban on the sale of high-capacity magazines that hold many rounds of ammunition?

38. Which of the following approaches do you think would be the most effective way to prevent mass shootings at schools, like the one that occurred in Newtown, Connecticut: banning assault weapons, or increasing police presence at schools, or decreasing gun violence on television, in movies, and video games, or increasing government spending on mental health screening and treatment?

41a. (COMBINED Q40 & Q41)Would you support or oppose raising the minimum wage in New Jersey, which is now $7.25 an hour? IF SUPPORT: Do you think that the minimum wage should be $8.25 an hour, should be less than $8.25 an hour, or should be more than $8.25 an hour?